Stargazers to consider a comet

By Joan MieritzSpecial to The PREVIEW

The next regular meeting of the San Juan Stargazers will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec.19, at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.

The topic of study will be what happened to Comet ISON, which stargazers had hoped would be visible in December after making its pass by the sun. Jerry Granok wrote an excellent article last week in The SUN, with many details. Those who attend the meeting will see a video with additional details presented by astronomers from around the world.

Bring a snack to share along with coffee, hot chocolate and cider provided at the meeting.

Members will also make plans for the Jan. 16 meeting, which will be held at Pine Ridge Extended Care Center. Club members want to provide an opportunity for many senior citizens of Pagosa to look through telescopes and to learn more about astronomy.

The San Juan Stargazers are part of the Astronomical League, which includes clubs from all over the U.S. The club has a website, www.SanJuanStargazers.com, as well as an e-mail address, sjstargazers@gmail.com and a club phone number, (970) 335-8286 to help communicate with the public. Anyone interested in learning more about astronomy is invited to attend the meetings.